


now cracks a noble heart

by iwritetrash



Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: (but only a little bit right at the end), Angst with a Happy Ending, Edward Drummond Lives, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Poor Alfred, Reincarnation, Wishes, a tiny little hint of a coffee shop au, it gets better and then worse and then eventually better again, wishes come with consequences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 11:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12793920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritetrash/pseuds/iwritetrash
Summary: When Edward Drummond is fatally shot, Alfred is given three wishes with which to amend the situation. Unfortunately, one does not always get quite what they wish for.





	now cracks a noble heart

**Author's Note:**

> i decided to try something with a slightly happier ending and... this is as happy as it gets. trust me. it has a happy ending. eventually. 
> 
> also i am continuing the theme of pretentious hamlet references for titles... yep, this is a thing now.

I. 

Edward lives. That is the wish Alfred makes. The first one, anyway. 

Alfred knows these wishes have a way of twisting themselves, so that one never quite receives what they ask for, but how hard can it be to simply stop someone from dying, right?

Wrong.

Edward survives, but he is not the same.

He is still shot, still wounded in a manner which should be fatal. The doctors think he is blessed by some kind of miracle when he doesn’t die. Instead, Edward spends weeks in agony, writhing on the hospital bed and crying out from delusions, likely brought on by infection which has set in.

When the delusions pass, he is different somehow. He is shaken, less certain in his choices, colder. His eyes are those of a man who has suffered.

Alfred cannot bear it. 

II.

Edward is happy. That is his second wish. Alfred tells himself that, now that Edward is no longer at risk of dying, his next priority is his lover’s happiness. 

How cruel the fates are in granting wishes.

Edward is happy, but he is not happy with Alfred. He is happy with Florence instead. Alfred supposes that makes sense; a life lived with Florence is a life free from secrecy, from scrutiny, and from fear. 

Surely, if Edward is happy, Alfred should content himself with that. He knew when he made his wish that he would not be able to pick and choose.

_You get what you are given_ , he reminds himself.

III.

Alfred does not follow the cliché of begging for more wishes with his third. He has what he wants now. Perhaps he is dissatisfied with the results regarding himself, but Edward is safe, and happy, and he thinks there is little more he could ask for.

Edward seems to forget that blissful evening on the Scottish Highlands, and Alfred supposes that, too, is for the best. What Edward does not remember cannot hurt him.

Alfred contemplates using his last wish to forget as well, but he can’t bring himself to part with those beautiful memories, and he is ashamed to have taken them from Edward for that same reason.

Alfred also contemplates using his wish to make Edward to remember, but he knows it would only make him sad. 

Instead Alfred wishes for this: 

He and Edward will meet again one day in a better life where 

I.

Edward will be safe

II. 

Edward will be happy 

and III.

They can be together. 

The fates make their promises, and Alfred lives out the rest of his life, content that he will meet Edward again one day in a new world, a kinder world.

One hundred and seventy-four years later, a boy named Alfred walks into a café and falls for the young barista who serves him his coffee with a name and phone number on the side. 

_Edward._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! if you liked this please leave me a comment or some kudos or something <3


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